


Chimera

by Shuichi_Akai



Category: One Piece
Genre: Abuse, Altered Mental States, Animal Traits, Cat/Human Hybrids, Child Abuse, Chimeras, F/M, Gen, Human Experimentation, Hybrids, Kidnapping, Mental Instability, Psychological Trauma, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-02-27 01:47:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18729232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shuichi_Akai/pseuds/Shuichi_Akai
Summary: The Donquixote Pirates stumble across an abandoned lab and find the remnants of human experimentation. Only two live subjects were left and Doflamingo recognizes one of them as his younger brother. [Hiatus]





	1. Chapter 1

                The El Flamenco’s anchor was dropped as she reached the shore. Her inhabitants all disembarked and set foot onto the discolored sands. It was odd; there were dark patches of sand splattered all over the shoreline, as if someone had thrown paint onto a sandy easel. A pungent scent assaulted their nostrils.

                “Gross!” Baby 5 gagged, covering her nose with her hands. “It stinks here!”

                “What is that smell-dasuyan!?” Buffalo exclaimed.

                “Blood,” Doflamingo answered calmly. The foul odor was not only of blood though. He could tell that it was a combination of blood, rotting flesh, and human waste. He started to walk forward.

                “O-Oi Doffy,” Trebol called. “You’re not actually going to explore the island, right?”

                “We might find something useful,” Doflamingo claimed. Though, that wasn’t his only reason. He could feel it in his guts; he _had_ to go forward. He didn’t know why he had to go or what he was even searching for. It was as if his own strings were pulling him in the direction they deemed right.

                He noticed something lying on a dark patch of sand nearby and cautiously moved towards it. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and paused just a few feet away from the corpse. His eyes were locked onto the dead body and focused on the inhuman parts. _‘A monkey tail, feet, and ears? There are also chains around its neck, wrists, and ankles. A partial Zoan transformation? No, when a person dies their Devil Fruit is reborn elsewhere and the corpse should have no trace of it left,’_

                The sound of tearing brought Doflamingo out of his thoughts. He peered over to the other side of the corpse and saw a little boy no older than two years old. He nearly threw up once he noticed that the boy was _eating_ the corpse. The boy was in a half-crouching half-on all fours position and his feline ears twitched at the sound of Doflamingo’s disgusted gags. He stared at Doflamingo.

                _‘Why the hell is he eating_ _a dead body!?’_ His internal shock penetrated his calm demeanor but he was still prepared to kill without hesitation if the boy decided to attack him. He had no idea who or what the boy was, but if he was a threat he’d be treated like one, child or not.

                The boy hopped onto the corpse in one swift fluid motion, allowing Doflamingo to see his appearance clearly. In place of his human arms and legs, the boy instead had four snow leopard legs. A slender tail protruded from his lower back. Atop the boy’s head were a pair of triangular ears, totaling the boy’s number of ears to four. His nose and mouth were a horrendous fusion of a human face and a snow leopard muzzle. “Mrow?” He tilted his head curiously.

 _‘It’s definitely not a Devil Fruit,’_ Doflamingo deduced. _‘What should I do with this boy? Should I take him back to the ship? We_ did _take in Dellinger who is half-Fishman half-human. But will this child be more trouble than he’s worth? At least he isn’t as aggressive as Dellinger was when we first found him,’_

                “Doffy did you find something?” Diamante called as he and a few others approached his location. The rest had stayed back on the ship. “What the hell is that thing!?”

                “It’s not a Devil Fruit so my only guess is human experimentation,” Doflamingo replied.

                “Is that blood around his mouth-iin!?” Machvise exclaimed.

                “He was eating the corpse,” Doflamingo responded. “Think this kid will make a good family member?”

                “He isn’t outright trying to bite us like Dellinger did when we found him,” Trebol lifted the toddler up by the back of his shirt. “Ne, how did he survive by himself?”

                Apparently the boy hated being carried by a strange snot man and hissed. “Mrah!” He attempted to scratch at the executive but his claws could not reach him.

                That’s when it suddenly struck Doflamingo. “He can’t have survived on his own. He’s too small and young. Trebol, put the boy down,”

                “Ne, ne, don’t you think you’re overreacting Doffy?” Trebol asked. “If anything attacks us we can just kill it,”

                But Doflamingo wasn’t having it. He didn’t know if there were any venomous creatures or experiments on the island. If one of them were to get bitten or stung, they might not have a cure ready in time. Doflamingo yanked the boy out of Trebol’s hold and placed the boy back on the ground. “I’m not taking any risks,”

                “Ooh,” The boy’s pawed hand grabbed a fistful of Doflamingo’s feathered coat and pulled to bring it closer. He buried his face in the soft fabric and purred in delight. “Mrow…”

                An angry snarl drew everyone’s attention away from the boy. Standing a couple feet away from the group was another hybrid. He was a large one, larger than both the cub and the deceased monkey hybrid. He had a pair of wolf ears on his head, and like the boy, had a total of four ears. His hands and feet had been replaced with large wolf paws and his face was a horrifying fusion of human and wolf. A wolf tail was tucked between his legs, showing little to no movement. The corners of his lips were pulled back and his lips curled, revealing his sharp fangs. The wolf fur was a light brown-blonde that was similar to the hybrid’s hair color.

                But Doflamingo did not care about the hybrid’s body at the moment. Instead, he was focused on his eyes. Even as the wolf tackled him to the ground and bared his fangs just inches away from his face, Doflamingo did not stop staring into the sapphire blue eyes of his baby brother that he had last seen years ago.

                “Rocinante?”

**Law and Dellinger are about the same age in this story.**

**Doflamingo: 27 years old**  
**Rocinante: 25 years old**  
**Law: 2 years old**

**There are seven chapters. _Chimera_ will update every Monday.**


	2. Chapter 2

                “Rocinante?”

                The wolf hybrid paused for a moment, not understanding what that name meant yet having heard of it before. He was suddenly thrown to the side when Pica punched him. The snow leopard hybrid growled and pounced at Pica who prepared to knock the boy away. The snow leopard hybrid yelped in pain and the wolf hybrid rushed to his side. The wolf hybrid picked up the boy and ran off.

                “Young Master, we’ll deal with them,” Gladius said.

                “Stop!” Doflamingo sent a wave of Conqueror’s Haki to ensure that his crew’s attention was on him. “Do _not_ attack them! All of you return to the ship!”

                “Doffy—”

                “Just go back to the ship!” Doflamingo snapped. It was out of character of him to lose his cool like that but he didn’t care. He had finally seen his baby brother for the first time in years and they caused him to run off.

                The Donquixote Pirates hesitated for a moment before obeying their captain’s orders. Doflamingo took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on using his Observation Haki to sense his surroundings. He managed to pinpoint two moving figures and started heading in their direction, careful to be as silent as possible to avoid scaring them off.

 _‘I have to know what happened to my baby brother!’_ Doflamingo thought. _‘I need to know_ who _did this to him!’_

                Doflamingo came to a large metal building. There were a couple more corpses outside but he ignored them. The large door was ajar and he slipped inside with ease. At that point he had to cover his nose due to the scent being much worse than it was outside. Scratches and blood stained the walls and floors. There were even more hybrid corpses than there were outside, most of them having chunks of flesh missing.

A few laboratory lights flickered on and off, but most of them were broken. Shattered glass vials littered the floor and various liquids pooled and formed puddles of colors. Tables and chairs had been overturned and shelves knocked down. Fallen files and papers had been rendered illegible after having soaked in the puddles.

                He stopped inside of one room. Rocinante was laying in the corner, curled protectively around the boy. Once he saw Doflamingo, he got into a defensive stance once more. Doflamingo slowly approached him and with each step the growling got louder. “Rocinante, do you recognize me?”

                The response he received was a lunge aiming for his neck. Doflamingo brought his arm up in front of him and imbued it in Armament Haki. Powerful jaws clamped around his forearm but made no damage. Claws attempted to scratch at the fabric beside his muzzle but the Armament Haki held strong. Now that Doflamingo was closer, he could see the manacles clamped around his baby brother’s wrists and ankles.

                Doflamingo carefully pulled Rocinante off and used his strings to immobilize him. Rocinante let out a cry of frustration at being unable to attack. Doflamingo looked around and managed to find a mostly clean cage. He walked over to where the unconscious boy laid and placed him in the cage. He undid his strings and Rocinante rushed inside to check on his cub. Once he was fully in, Doflamingo shut the door.

                Rocinante began to panic and started to bite and scratch at the bars. He seemed to be in more distress than he was before. “I’m sorry Rocinante but this is the only way for me to safely transport you to the ship,” Doflamingo said but he knew that the younger Donquixote couldn’t understand him. “If there’s any danger lurking around, it’d be a hassle to fight while carrying the two of you,”

                The rest of the lab was eerily empty. _‘It’s like we’re the only ones alive on this island,’_ Doflamingo commented silently. _‘But it can’t just be the two of them. Did they divide the place into territories?’_

XXX

                Fortunately, Doflamingo managed to return to the ship without the need to fight. He placed Rocinante and the now conscious boy in the holding cell. It pained Doflamingo to watch his baby brother be kept in a place meant for prisoners. Rocinante barked and growled angrily at Doflamingo, threatening to tear him apart if he came close to his cub again.

 _‘Rocinante is really protective of that boy,’_ Doflamingo noted. _‘Could that boy be his son? It is a possibility. Why else would he want to protect that kid? That means the boy is my nephew,’_

                “Young Master,” Baby 5 entered with a large bowl of soup and a plate of onigiri. “The sedatives are in the onigiri,”

                “Mrow?” The boy looked at Baby 5 and the food.

Rocinante turned to the girl and ceased his growling. He had a surprised expression, as if he didn’t expect a child to be with Doflamingo. Once he turned back to Doflamingo, Rocinante resumed his aggression. “Grr…”

                “Thank you Baby 5,” Doflamingo took the tray from her. “I’ll give it to them. I don’t want you to get hurt,”

                “Why are we sedating them?” Baby 5 asked as Doflamingo used his strings to open the cell door just enough for the tray to slide in.

                “We need to have their wounds look at as well as change their clothes,” Doflamingo answered.

                The boy nearly jumped to the food but Rocinante held him back. He carefully sniffed the food with suspicions, glancing back at the two before backing away. He refused to eat it and didn’t want his cub anywhere near it. He still didn’t trust Doflamingo.

                “Young Master, why won’t they eat?” Baby 5 turned to her captain. “Aren’t they hungry?”

                “Maybe not,” Doflamingo shook his head. “I saw the boy eat before we captured him,”

                “What was he eating?” Baby 5 inquired curiously.

                “Don’t worry about it,” Doflamingo wanted to spare her the mental image of the boy cannibalizing. “They’ll eventually get hungry again and will have to eat. I’ll stay and watch them,”

**Rocinante’s hostile towards Doflamingo but not to Baby 5.**


	3. Chapter 3

                Doflamingo hadn’t realized he had fallen asleep while waiting for his baby brother and nephew to eat. _‘I must’ve been really emotionally exhausted,’_ He lifted his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes.

                “Soft!”

                Doflamingo’s head jerked up at the sound of Dellinger’s voice. The cell door was wide open and the two had been let out. His worry turned into confusion when he saw Dellinger and Baby 5 petting Rocinante and Law’s fur. Neither Rocinante nor the boy showed any sign of aggression towards the two children.

                “Ahem,” Doflamingo cleared his throat to get their attention.

                Rocinante stepped in front of all three children and once again went into a defensive pose. “Grr…”

                _‘He’s protecting Baby 5 and Dellinger too?’_ Doflamingo noted. _‘Does he think that Dellinger was another child who was experimented on?’_

                “Baby 5,” Doflamingo addressed the oldest child. “Who let them out?”

                “Dellinger _needed_ me!” Baby 5 defended. “He wanted to play with your brother and nephew!”

                _‘We really need to curb that habit of hers,’_ Doflamingo sighed. _‘If Rocinante was hostile she and Dellinger could’ve gotten hurt,’_ “Baby 5, right now I need both you and Dellinger to leave,”

                “You need me?” Baby 5 led the younger child away from Rocinante and the cub-boy hybrid.

                Rocinante didn’t stop them but kept his gaze on Doflamingo. He nudged his cub away from Doflamingo when the younger tried to grab the feathered coat again. The boy pouted at his two new friends leaving and his father not allowing him to play with the fluffy fabric. His stomach growled so he padded over to the now cold food and started to nibble on an onigiri. He washed it down with some of the soup, lapping at it like a dog.

                Doflamingo noted that there had been a small chunk missing from the side and concluded that either Baby 5 or Dellinger had taken a bite to show them it wasn’t poisoned but not enough for them to fall unconscious. Only after the boy had eaten his fill did Rocinante begin to eat the leftovers. He always kept Doflamingo visible in his line of vision, ready to defend his cub in case the man decided to try something.

                Within minutes, the two chimeras had fallen asleep. Doflamingo carefully brought them up to the bathroom and began to peel away their unsightly clothes. Veins throbbed in his forehead when he saw the myriad of wounds ranging from gashes to whip marks to burns. _‘When I find out who did this, I’ll make them regret being born!’_

                After cleaning them both up, Doflamingo dressed Rocinante in a set of his clothes and Law in a set of Dellinger’s clothes. He tended to their wounds and wrapped them up in bandages. Doflamingo set down blankets and pillows inside of the holding cell and placed his sleeping brother and nephew inside. He was about to close the door when he decided against it. _‘They didn’t attack Baby 5 or Dellinger. I don’t want to treat them like animals. They’re_ not _animals,’_

                He decided that he’d allow the two to roam freely in the holding room but not be able to leave. He knew that they wouldn’t attack the kids but there was no telling how he’d react to the other adults. He placed two large bowls of water on the floor in case they got thirsty. He headed up to eat dinner with the rest of his family.

XXX

                Doflamingo didn’t really participate in the conversations of his crew during dinnertime. He pushed pieces of his steak around his plate. _‘How can I stomach this when I just found out that my little brother and nephew were experimented on like guinea pigs!?’_

                “Ne, ne, Doffy, are you feeling alright?” Trebol asked. “You haven’t eaten anything,”

                “I’m not hungry,” Doflamingo stood up from his place and headed to his quarters. He collapsed on his bed. _‘It’s my fault. I should have never left him alone. I thought that he’d stay and wait for me. I should have told Trebol, Diamante, Pica, and Vergo to never let him out of their sight. I should have come back sooner. I should have never gone to back to Mariejois,’_

                He felt something wet run down his face and put his hand to his cheek. _‘Tears? I haven’t cried since…since we were strung up like meat and tortured…’_ Doflamingo tried to resist crying but that only made the tears fall even faster. _‘I vowed to get stronger…to be able to protect Rocinante…yet I failed! I let my baby brother get hurt again! What’s the use of being strong if you are unable to protect those that you care about!?’_

XXX

                Rocinante and Law awoke to a strange feeling of comfortability. Their wounds had been tended to and they were dressed in clean clothes for once. Their chains had all been removed. They laid among soft blankets and pillows. Rocinante inspected his cub, making sure he was alright. He heard footsteps approaching and let out a warning growl.

                Doflamingo staggered into the room, an empty bottle in a loose grip. “Ro…ci…” He was drunk.

 _‘Stinks…’_ Rocinante wrinkled his nose at the scent of alcohol. He didn’t perceive Doflamingo as a threat in his drunken state but still refused to let his cub go near him.

                “’m…sorry…” Doflamingo reached a hand out to the wolf chimera.

                Rocinante immediately reacted and bit the offending hand. “Grr…”

                Doflamingo didn’t seem to have noticed and put his now bleeding hand to Rocinante’s cheek. “’m…sorry…M’…fault…Neva…should’ve…left…” His fingers caressed the soft fur on Rocinante’s face. “Sorry…sorry…sorry…” He slung his arm over Rocinante, bringing him into a one-armed hug.

                Rocinante didn’t pull away, despite hating the foul stench of booze. The hug wasn’t uncomfortable. _‘Warm…’_ Rocinante noted. _‘Feel…warm…Feel…nice…Not…bad…Not…hurt…’_

**So…yeah…**


	4. Chapter 4

                Rocinante glared at Doflamingo, annoyed that the now asleep man _still_ wouldn’t stop hugging him. He laid down on his stomach, shifting into a more comfortable position. The boy pulled the coat off of Doflamingo’s back and started to roll around in the soft feathers. He meowed happily.

_"We'll lead a life far richer than the life in Mariejois. What I mean by 'rich' is not having so many things. It’s about heart,”_

                Rocinante frantically shook his head, not understanding the memory or recognizing the people in it. _‘Who…they?’_ From the furthest he could remember, he had never had any “visions.”

XXX

                _‘My head feels like shit…’_ When Doflamingo awoke once more, the first thing he saw was Rocinante’s irritated glare. Though he would never admit it, he was startled by the close proximity. _‘Usually I couldn’t even look at them without being threatened,’_ He felt an emptiness around his shoulders. _‘Where’s my feathered coat?’_

                “Mrow,” The boy was lying down on the coat.

                “Now this is going to be a problem,” Doflamingo sighed. “I guess I’m not getting my coat back for a while,”

                “Who…” Doflamingo’s eyes widened at the sound of the foreign voice and he turned to his brother. Rocinante was struggling to speak, his face scrunched up in pain. “Who…you?”

                _‘He…he actually spoke to me? He didn’t growl or threaten me! But he seems to be in pain when speaking. His vocal chords must have been affected too,’_ Doflamingo noted. “I’m Donquixote Doflamingo, your older brother,”

                Rocinante’s eyes showed neither hostility nor aggression. “Bro…ther?”

                Doflamingo nodded. “Do you remember your name?”

                Rocinante closed his eyes, trying to remember what he had been called by others.

_A blurred man stood in front of the group of chained and caged chimeras. “Listen up here you freaks. The rules are all simple. If you don’t obey my orders, you’ll be punished. If you don’t obey my orders to my satisfaction, you’ll be punished. If you piss me off, you’ll be punished. My word is absolute!”_

                “Fr...ea…k…” His whole body had begun to tremble.

                Doflamingo wrapped his arms around his baby brother, bringing his head against his chest and gently rubbing his back. “Your name’s Donquixote Rocinante. You’re not a freak. Your son isn’t a freak either,”

                _‘Name…not freak…’_ Rocinante thought. _‘Name…Rocinante…Donquixote…Rocinante…’_

                “Does your son have a name?” Doflamingo asked gently.

                “Law…” Rocinante answered. “Cub…Law…” He closed his eyes, his head aching as if bitten by a Sea King.

                “You’re my baby brother and Law’s my nephew,” Doflamingo told him. “Neither of you are freaks. I’ll find whoever did this to you and make them pay. I won’t let them hurt you again,”

                Rocinante wanted to believe him. He wanted to trust the man who had taken the both of them away from the island prison. He wanted to trust the man who had tended to his and Law’s wounds. He wanted to trust the man who claimed to be his so called brother. But a dark voice in the back of his mind echoed.

**‘Do not trust him,’**

                “No…” Rocinante chose to follow the dark voice. He shoved Doflamingo off of him and gently picked up Law as to not waken him. He placed his cub onto the soft blanket-covered floor and curled around him. _‘No…trust…Not…pack…Only trust…cub…’_

                “Rocinante?” Doflamingo reached a hand out to him. “Rocinante, I’m your brother. I’m not going to hurt you,”

                “Stay…away!” Rocinante snapped his jaws inches away from Doflamingo’s hand.

                Doflamingo didn’t want to make the situation worse so he left. _‘Why did he suddenly become aggressive again? I thought I was getting through to him. He was speaking to me without aggression and didn’t even attack me in my sleep. He allowed me to get close enough to hug him. So why did he suddenly turn violent again?’_

XXX

                “Young Master, where are we sailing to?” Gladius asked, having noted the altered course.

                “We’re going to East Blue,” Doflamingo announced. “It’s safer there,”

                “Safer?” Pica questioned. “We can defeat any enemy that crosses our path,”

                “But I don’t want Rocinante or Law getting caught in the crossfire,” Doflamingo told them firmly. “Besides, a battle would just stress them out more. They’d be startled by the sounds of cannons, gunshots, and the clash of blades. The scent of blood might be a bother to them too,”

                “Which island will we be heading to?” Senor Pink inquired.

                Doflamingo tried to recall the names of islands from East Blue. “I believe there’s an archipelago known as the Conomi Islands. They’re far enough from Marine bases. I’ll see if Vergo can be transferred to the closest Marine base so that he can inform us of any Marines heading our way,”

                Trebol wanted to speak out in disagreement but he knew better than to go against Doflamingo when it considered his family, especially if it’s safety. _‘Staying in the weakest sea means that everyone there will be too weak to even use as training for the brats! If we don’t keep up with our training, then we’ll start to become complacent and weak! Why couldn’t that Rocinante brat have died instead of intervening with Doffy’s life!? All he ever did was hold Doffy back!’_

XXX

                _Darkness. That was all he could see. Something was tied around his head, blocking his eyes from seeing the outside world. He could smell smoke and feel an intense heat raging beneath him. He could hear screams and cries, but they were all incoherent to him. His whole body was in pain and tears were running down his face._

_“I will come kill every single one of you jerks!”_

                Rocinante jerked awake from the nightmare. _‘Why…no…see? Voice…who…who…is voice?’_

                “Mrow?” Law drowsily looked to his father.

                Rocinante assured him that he was alright. _‘Cub…safe…I…safe…Cub…stay…away…from voice…Protect…cub…’_

**So the Donquixote Pirates are heading to the Conomi Islands and Rocinante is starting to recall some memories.**

**The voice is Rocinante’s subconscious because the last memory Rocinante had of Doflamingo was him murdering their father and beheading his corpse.**

**There are drawings of Chimera Law and Chimera Rocinante on my instagram, @dracopirates.**


	5. Chapter 5

                Bellemere was in the training room, furiously attacking the training dummies. She was the only one present with only her area lit up. The rest of the Marines were asleep. _‘I’m not strong enough!’_

                Footsteps echoed in the nearly empty room and she turned towards the entrance. “Bellemere, you’ve rarely getting any sleep,”

                “Admiral Sengoku,” Bellemere addressed.

                “While training is good, it is important for you to also get adequate rest,” Sengoku told her.

                “I know,” Bellemere looked away. “Even if I wanted to, I can’t sleep,”

                “It’s because of Rocinante and Law, isn’t it?” Sengoku asked.

                “Yeah,” Bellemere nodded. “If only I was stronger…if only I was faster…if only I was with them…” She slammed her fist hard against the training dummy and the head went flying. “They’d still be here! It’s been a year but I still can’t get over them! They _can’t_ be dead, I can feel it in my guts that they’re somewhere out there, alive!”

                Sengoku put a hand on her shoulder. “Perhaps you should take a break. It’s bad to overwork yourself,”

                “I guess I could see how Genzo and the others back in Cocoyasi Village are doing,” Bellemere reluctantly agreed.

XXX

                Bellemere boarded the Marine vessel with a backpack and trunk full of her belongings. She stared at her superior who was also wearing casual clothing like her. “Admiral Sengoku? Why are you here?”

                “Tsuru thinks I also need a break from work,” Sengoku explained. “She forced Kong to put me on leave,”

                _‘Can a Vice-Admiral do that to a Fleet Admiral?’_ Bellemere sweat-dropped at the thought of Tsuru ordering Kong around.

                “If you don’t mind, I’ll stay at an inn in your village,” Sengoku said. “It’ll be easier for Tsuru to drop us off and pick us up at the same spot,”

                “Uh, sure,” Bellemere awkwardly replied.

XXX

                For the past few weeks, Rocinante and Law stayed in the storage area. They were free to go in and out of the cell but not leave the room. Baby 5 and Dellinger often came down to play with Law under Doflamingo’s supervision. If Rocinante suddenly lashed out at Doflamingo, what would stop him from lashing out at the two children?

                _‘It’s all my fault…’_ Doflamingo thought, wishing he could get closer to the two chimeras. _‘Why did I leave him behind!? Why didn’t I bring him with me!? Brothers are supposed to stick together! Why did I **abandon** him!?’_

                Law could sense that Doflamingo was sad. Being the innocent child he was, he wanted to walk over and make the sadness go away. Despite his best efforts to get closer to the man with the fluffy, his father would always pull him away. Law was confused and a bit upset. Why didn’t his daddy want to make the nice man happy? The nice man gave them yummy food and warm skins and the man had a fluffy! People with fluffy can’t be bad!

XXX

                Rocinante watched as the two other children left. They were strange. The younger one, Dell, didn’t seem bothered by his features that he had gained from experimentation. Rocinante and Law often felt phantom pains from where their previous limbs were. Sometimes their bodies would ache without anything agitating them. Rocinante had been confused as to why Dell’s fin and sharp teeth sometimes disappeared.

                The other child, Bae-Fie, was even more bizarre. She could manipulate her body into something different. She never transformed into an animal. The transformations never seemed to really hurt her, only sometimes making her slightly uncomfortable. Rocinante shuddered at the thoughts of the cruel experimentation that she had gone through.

                He pitied the two, he really did. He wanted to practically adopt them into his pack, but he knew he couldn’t protect them. They trusted the Fluffy Man too much. Whenever they went up the stairs and left them, Rocinante wanted to follow with his cub. The Fluffy Man prevented them from leaving the room.

                The Fluffy Man was only a nuisance and a threat. He seemed nice and caring, but Rocinante’s guts told him not to trust the man. The man claimed to be his brother and had apparently rescued them from the lab, but why now? Why did he take so long? Why did they have to _suffer_ in that hell? Brothers were part of the same pack and pack protected each other. That man was not pack.

XXX

                _He was crying while being embraced from behind. “Brother stop! Don’t!” He couldn’t see who was hugging him nor whoever he was speaking to._

_“I’ll bring you head to Mariejois!”_

_A gunshot resonated throughout the air. A warm liquid splattered onto him and the ground around him. He watched in horror as the man who was hugging him collapsed. His sobs echoed throughout the area. “FATHER!”_

                Rocinante jolted awake from his nightmare. “Da?” His cub looked at him tiredly.

                “Sleep…” He licked the cub’s forehead to assure him that he was fine.

                That voice was familiar to him. He had heard it before, but to whom did it belong to? Then it struck him. He had caught a glimpse of the other voice’s owner before he had woken from the nightmare. The boy was blonde with sunglasses, a similar appearance to the Fluffy Man! The Fluffy Man had killed his own— _their_ own father! He killed a member of his own pack!

                Rocinante was glad that he hadn’t trust the man. He now knew that the man did not care for his own pack either, only for himself. He didn’t know why he kept him and Law alive, but he knew that whatever he had planned for them, it wasn’t anything good. The man seemed to be sleeping, leaned against one of the walls.

                Rocinante silently exited the cell and stopped in front of the Fluffy Man. _‘Protect…pack…Protect…cub…’_ He thought, preparing to attack. _‘KILL THREAT!’_

**So Bellemere and Sengoku are off to Cocoyasi Village.**


	6. Chapter 6

                Tsuru had dropped off Bellemere and Sengoku at Cocoyasi Village. “It’s been so many years,” Bellemere reminisced. “I wonder if my tangerine farm is still here. Genzo said he’d take care of it for me,”

                “A tangerine farm?” Sengoku raised a brow.

                “My parents were farmers,” Bellemere explained with a sad expression. “Law, Roci, and I lived here and sold tangerines at the market,”

XXX

                Doflamingo was a light sleeper. He had been since his family had left Mariejois. The first night had been because he refused to sleep in a commoner’s bed. The nights after that were mostly sleepless due to being constantly on the run from the villagers. They could strike at any moment and even just a few minutes of rest was a blessing. After his mother passed away, he had been haunted with nightmares of her death.

Even after he had formed the Donquixote Pirates with his four executives, he’d still get nightmares of not just his mother’s death, but of the torture he had endured. He didn’t really mind the light sleeps. An attack could happen at night and he wouldn’t be too drowsy to fight. Besides, there was no rest for the wicked.

                He sensed that someone was charging at him. Instinctively, he grabbed the person and threw them across the room before opening his eyes. He let out a string of curses after he had realized who he had thrown. “Shit! Rocinante!” He rushed to his brother’s side.

                The wolf-human chimera lunged for Doflamingo’s throat and if it weren’t for the elder’s Armament Haki, he would’ve caused serious damage. Despite his failed attack, he didn’t stop there. Rocinante went for any openings he saw. He went for arms, legs, and torso. Doflamingo imbued multiple parts of his body with Armament Haki. Though he was skilled in it, he wasn’t able to fully coat himself like Vergo yet.

                “Rocinante calm down!” Doflamingo ordered. He didn’t want his brother to hurt himself.

“PACK KILLER!” Rocinante roared, refusing to cease his biting and clawing.

                “Pack killer?” Doflamingo stared at him with a puzzled expression.

                “You…killed…” The yelling that Rocinante had done a few seconds prior had irritated his throat and caused him to scrunch up his face in pain. “You…killed…Alpha!”

 _‘Alpha?’_ Doflamingo frowned, not understanding who Rocinante was referring to. _‘An alpha is the leader of a pack. The leader of a pack is the head of the family,’_ “Are you talking about Father?” That question seemed to increase Rocinante’s anger which confirmed Doflamingo’s thoughts. “If you remember Father, then do you remember me?”

                “Pack killer!”

                Doflamingo was stressed out and worried that he might seriously hurt Rocinante. He used his strings to immobilize him and with a single swift hit, Rocinante was out cold. As Doflamingo left the room, he caught sight of the now awake Law trembling in the corner with fear.

XXX

                Law had awoken to his father getting up. He was told to go back to sleep but Law was curious as to where his dad was going. He saw him approach the Fluffy Man who was sleeping and attacked him. He watched in horror as the Fluffy Man threw Daddy across the room. He whimpered and covered his eyes with his paws, but was unable to mute the sounds of fighting.

_One of the newer chimeras had attacked the Bad Man. “Let this be a lesson to all of you! Anyone who dares to defy me will end up like this bitch!”_

_They were forced to watch the chimera get brutally tortured for hours. She had begun begging for death after only minutes. She was left barely alive and thrown to the floor. The other chimeras wanted to give her a mercy kill, but the Bad Man threatened anyone who did so would suffer the same fate as her._

                When Law opened his eyes again, his daddy had been knocked out. He watched the Fluffy Man leave before sprinting over to his daddy.

XXX

                Once Doflamingo was in the safety of his captain suite, he broke down in tears. _‘Of all the things he had to finally remember about me, it was of me killing Father!? Why couldn’t he remembered the happy times we had together in Mariejois!? Now he thinks I’m going to kill him and Law! I was so close to regaining his trust!’_

                _‘Would it have been better if I had just left those two on the island?’_ Doflamingo frantically shook his head. _‘Of course not! They would’ve died if I hadn’t rescued them!’_

                _‘Would it be better for them if I put them out of their misery? They’d be happily living with Mother and Father…’_ This time Doflamingo slapped himself. “Damn it! Of course it wouldn’t be better for them! They _will_ recover, both physically and mentally!”

XXX

                Doflamingo didn’t return to that room for the next few days. Baby 5 always brought food down for them as well as cleaned and redressed their wounds. She always brought Dellinger with her so that they could play with Law. Law happily played with his friends.

                Meanwhile, Rocinante sulked. His pride had been hurt when he had failed to kill the Fluffy Man. _‘Too…weak…Can’t…protect…cub…Need…stronger…’_

XXX

                The El Flamenco finally reached Cocoyasi Village. “Young Master!” Baby 5 and Dellinger rushed out onto the deck. “Rocinante-san’s acting weird!”

                Before any of the adults could ask what was going on, the door was forced open. Rocinante shook his fur free of any wooden shards and picked Law up gently with his mouth before sprinting pass the others and leaping onto the shore. The two headed for the woods.

                “Rocinante! Law!” Doflamingo called. He used his strings to connect to clouds to get a bird’s eye view. _‘Rocinante, where are you heading to?’_

**Rocinante and Law are heading to meet a certain someone. The familiar scents of Cocoyasi Village started to jog their memories.**


	7. Chapter 7

                Rocinante didn’t stop running. He had caught whiff of the scent of someone important to him. _‘Tangerines…smoke…’_ His brain searched for the right word to describe the person. _‘Mate…Cub’s…mom…’_

                “Da?” Law asked. “See…Ma?”

                Rocinante grunted in affirmation. They were going to reunite with their pack. Rocinante followed the scent of tangerines, his mind seemingly knowing the exact location of his destination. After a few minutes, he stopped at the edge of a tangerine farm. He placed Law onto the ground and proceeded to walk through the orchard.

                They stopped in front of a house. It seemed old yet had a cozy aura to it. Rocinante could smell a person inside. The door opened and Bellemere exited with a rifle. “Who the hell’s trespassing!?”

                Rocinante took a step back, not having expected the sudden outburst. “Mate…” He called to her. “Belle…”

                Bellemere’s hands trembled and the rifle clattered to the ground. “What?” She was shocked and made no move to move closer to them.

                “Ma!” Law leapt into Bellemere’s arms.

                Bellemere managed to snap out of her daze and caught the cub. She stared at the little boy’s face. “Law?” She whispered. “Law, is it really you?”

                “Ma!” Law purred in delight. “Ma!”

                “Oh Law,” Bellemere hugged him tightly. “My sweet boy…”

                Rocinante decided that her reaction was a good sign to approach her. “Belle…”

                Bellemere wrapped her arms around the wolf hybrid. “Rocinante…Law…you’re both alive…”

                Rocinante rested his head on her shoulder. _‘Mate…cub…pack…safe…together…’_

XXX

                Doflamingo watched the scene unfold from his perch on a tree branch. _‘That woman knows Rocinante and Law. How did she recognize them right away!? Why didn’t they try to attack her!?’_ His hand holding onto the tree caused a crack to form. _‘I’m Rocinante’s_ brother _! He should’ve recognized me first! Just who the hell is that woman!?’_

                Doflamingo landed a few feet away from the trio. “Who are you?”

                Bellemere grabbed her rifle. “Don’t move!”

                Strings wrapped around her neck and Bellemere started to gasp for air. Rocinante noticed his mate’s distress and started to bite at the strings. The strings dug into his mouth, causing blood to trickle down. Law whimpered, unable to stop the pain of either of his parents.

                “Rocinante let go!” Doflamingo’s command fell on deaf ears. He used his other hand to form strings that froze his brother in place.

                “Impact Wave!” A golden shockwave hit Doflamingo and sent him flying through a couple tangerine trees.

                _‘Which bastard did that!?’_ Doflamingo got back up and saw Sengoku walking over to Bellemere and the two chimeras.

                “As much as I want to put you in Impel Down, you seem to be the only one that can provide and explanation,” Sengoku said. “If you try anything, I won’t hold back,”

                “Tch,” Doflamingo begrudgingly nodded. _‘I can’t win against an admiral,’_ “I found them on an island,”

                “Which island?” Sengoku narrowed his eyes.

                Doflamingo shrugged. “I don’t know the name of it. The ship landed on an island with bloody shores a few months ago. There were several other chimeras like Rocinante and Law but they were all dead. The lab was destroyed and whoever was in charge of it either died or escaped,”

                “What person would be so cruel as to do that to my husband and son!?” Bellemere hugged the two even closer. “They’re two innocent humans! Law was only one year old when he was kidnapped!”

                Doflamingo was gaping like a fish. “Husband? Son?”

                “Ma,” Law nuzzled Bellemere. “Ma,”

                “Bellemere married Rocinante and they adopted Law,” Sengoku revealed.

 _‘Rocinante had a happy life…He moved on without me…’_ Doflamingo still couldn’t really wrap around the thought that his brother could be happy with someone other than him. He was the only family Rocinante had left. “They’re coming back with me,”

                “No,” Bellemere refused. “They’re both staying here,”

                “I’m Rocinante’s brother!” Doflamingo argued.

                Bellemere snapped. “Where were you for the past years!? You were the one who abandoned him! What kind of brother does that!? I was there for Rocinante through thick and thin! Sengoku-san raised him like he was his own son! What the hell did you do for him!? You shot your guys’ father and chopped his head off! You chose Mariejois over your own flesh and blood! So don’t fucking use the fact that you’re his brother as a reason that he should be with you!”

                Rocinante did not like how his mate was getting worked up. He glared at Doflamingo and bared his teeth. “Mate…angry…Leave!”

                “Roci—”

                “LEAVE!”

                “It’s best if you did as he said,” Sengoku suggested. “If you refuse to do so, you’ll find yourself heading to Impel Down. This is the only chance I’m giving you, Doflamingo,”

                Doflamingo knew he couldn’t defeat Sengoku. He gave one last look to his brother and nephew before leaving. He would leave their property but he wouldn’t leave the island. Even if it pained him, he’d watch them from afar. If either of those two tried anything, he’d die trying to protect Rocinante and Law.

XXX

                “You poor things,” Bellemere said as she brought them inside. “I’ll find whoever did this to you and get revenge!”

                Rocinante looked around the house. He couldn’t really recall ever being in there before, yet it all felt familiar. It smelled of his mate. It smelled of pack. It smelled of… _home_. There were many blanks in his memories and he didn’t even really understand who the other man was, but he could tell that the man was part of his pack.

                “This was us when we officially adopted Law,” Bellemere held up a photo to Rocinante.

                “Mate…Cub…” Rocinante rumbled. He pointed his paw to himself in the photo. “Who?”

                “That’s you,” Bellemere answered. “That’s you,” She held up another photo. “This one is of you and Sengoku when you were younger,”

                Rocinante looked at the photo and then at Sengoku. “Alpha…”

                Sengoku knelt down and placed a hand on each of the chimeras. “We’ll figure out a way to get you guys better,”

                Rocinante leaned into the warm hand. Law purred. They could trust these people. They were pack. Pack protected each other.

**END OF PART I**

**The reason why Rocinante wasn’t hostile towards Bellemere and Sengoku was because his memories of them were happy unlike the memory of Doflamingo killing Homing.**

**This will be under hiatus while Part II is being written. Hopefully I can finish the chapters by September/November but I don’t want to rush it.**


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